Remote Jobs for PhDs: AI Research and Training Work

Every open remote job for PhDs across six AI training marketplaces, from physics and mathematics to chemistry and biology. Highest hourly pay first, refreshed daily.

153 open PhD listings live right now, paying up to $200 an hour.

On this page:Physics PhD JobsMathematics PhD JobsChemistry PhD JobsBiology PhD JobsMaterials Science PhD JobsPsychology PhD Jobs
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What these remote PhD jobs are

Remote jobs for PhDs in AI training pay you for the part of research a model cannot do yet: pose a hard problem, solve it rigorously, and find the flaw in a proof that looks right. Labs buy that by the hour. No teaching load, no grant cycle, no move across the world for a two-year contract.

The list above is sorted by published hourly rate. Mathematics and physics lead it. Alignerr runs a cluster of Lean 4 formalization roles for mathematicians, and micro1 splits its physics hiring by subfield, from condensed matter to cosmology. Chemistry, biology and materials science follow, mostly from Mercor and Alignerr.

Psychology PhDs have two places to look. Developmental psychology is below. Clinical and bilingual psychology tracks are filed under medicine, on the remote psychologist and psychiatrist jobs page linked at the bottom of this one.

PhD pay by field

Published hourly rates for each field on this page, computed from the open listings. A listing counts in more than one field when its title names several.

FieldOpen listingsPublished hourly rate
Physics36$20 to $200
Mathematics27$20 to $200
Chemistry22$20 to $125
Biology16$20 to $125
Materials science15$70 to $200
Psychology2$100 to $200

Physics PhD Jobs

Physics PhD jobs are the deepest field in this feed. micro1 runs separate tracks for statistical physics and quantum information, condensed matter, AMO and optical properties of materials, gravitation and cosmology, biophysics, and high energy and mathematical physics. Listed skills get as specific as ab initio polarizability calculations for ytterbium isotopes.

Pick the track that matches your thesis, since the screen goes deep in it. Mercor and Alignerr add general physics expert pools with broader problem-writing work.

36 open physics listings right now, published at $20 to $200 an hour.

Search all physics listings

Mathematics PhD Jobs

Mathematics PhD jobs here are mostly formalization. Alignerr is hiring mathematicians and proof engineers to turn mathematics into machine-checked proofs in Lean 4, with Mathlib named in several titles. One listing runs in French.

Titles split between proof engineers, who already work in Lean, and mathematicians in foundations and formal systems. If you have formalized a proof, put it first in your application. Mercor, micro1 and DataAnnotation post general mathematics roles as well.

27 open mathematics listings right now, published at $20 to $200 an hour.

Search all mathematics listings

Chemistry PhD Jobs

Chemistry listings come mainly from Alignerr and Mercor, with titles for chemists, chemistry researchers and biochemists. Several state Masters or PhD in the title. The work is mechanism and synthesis problems, critique of experimental design, and checking a model’s chemical reasoning line by line.

Mercor also posts coding roles for chemistry PhDs who script their own analysis. Computational chemists and cheminformatics specialists have a micro1 track shared with computational biology.

22 open chemistry listings right now, published at $20 to $125 an hour.

Search all chemistry listings

Biology PhD Jobs

Biology listings split between broad expert pools and narrow projects. Mercor runs molecular biology tracks for the US and the UK, an applied biology benchmark project and a coding role for biology PhDs. Alignerr posts biologist and biology researcher roles at Masters and PhD level.

Molecular biologists have the most options right now. Benchmark projects pay you to write questions that current models get wrong, with an answer you can defend.

16 open biology listings right now, published at $20 to $125 an hour.

Search all biology listings

Materials Science PhD Jobs

Materials science listings are unusually specific. Mercor posts projects in atomistic and surface modeling, catalysis, inorganic and semiconductor materials, superconductors and atomic layer deposition. Alignerr and micro1 add general materials science roles.

Pick the project that matches your research. Computational materials scientists fit the modeling and catalysis work. Experimentalists fit the deposition and semiconductor projects.

15 open materials science listings right now, published at $70 to $200 an hour.

Search all materials science listings

Psychology PhD Jobs

Psychology PhD jobs in this feed start with developmental psychology. micro1 runs a large customer project for doctorates in developmental psychology or child development, with or without clinical experience, and it prioritises candidates who also work in a second language.

Clinical psychology PhDs have more seats on the remote psychologist and psychiatrist jobs page. Those tracks sit under medicine, pair psychologists with psychiatrists by language, and include child and adolescent risk work.

2 open psychology listings right now, published at $100 to $200 an hour.

Search all psychology listings

What the work looks like

Four kinds of task cover most listings. Author original problems with worked solutions a grader can verify. Check other contributors’ solutions and model answers step by step. Grade a model’s reasoning against a rubric and explain each deduction. Formalize proofs in Lean 4, where the proof assistant, not a reviewer, decides whether you are right.

Postdocs, adjuncts, industry scientists and professors all work these contracts. micro1 posts a physics track for professors and principal investigators alongside one for postdocs and junior faculty. Most listings are hourly contracts you can run alongside an academic post, subject to your institution’s outside work policy and, for international researchers, your visa.

Where these listings come from

Six marketplaces publish this work openly. Every listing above links to the one that posted it, and each has its own page here covering pay, screening and who gets hired.

MercorOutlierDataAnnotationAlignerrmicro1Terac

PhD AI training jobs, answered

Are these real jobs or gig work?

Contracts. You are an independent contractor paid by the hour for project work, not an employee. Seats open and close with each lab’s projects, so treat this as income alongside a post, or as a bridge between posts, not as a career track.

How does the pay compare with a postdoc?

Per hour, well. The NIH stipend floor for a new US postdoc works out to about $30 an hour, and most listings here start above that. The header shows today’s top published rate, and the pay table shows each field’s range. The catch is volume: contract work does not guarantee forty hours a week.

Can I do this during a PhD or postdoc?

Often, after two checks. Your institution’s outside work policy, since many universities cap paid outside work or require you to disclose it. And your visa: an H-1B or J-1 tied to your university may not allow outside contract work at all, so ask your international office before you apply.

Do I need AI or coding experience?

No. Labs have machine learning engineers. What they buy from you is domain judgment the model lacks. Coding helps on the listings that name it, such as Mercor’s coding roles for chemistry, biology and materials PhDs, and Lean 4 helps on the formalization roles.

How are PhDs screened?

Credential checks, then a subject test or an AI interview. DataAnnotation gates access with a written assessment. micro1 and Mercor run AI interviews that follow up on your answers. The usual failure is writing for peers instead of a rubric: skipped steps, assumed context. Show every step, as if a strong undergraduate had to check it.

Other remote work for PhDs

AI training is one exit from academia. If it is the wrong fit, these are the established routes.

  • GLG and AlphaSights. Expert networks that pay PhDs by the call to brief investors and consultants on their field.
  • Nature Careers and Science Careers. Job boards for research posts in academia, government and industry.
  • Medical and scientific writing. Regulatory, publication and grant writing, often remote, with agencies and pharma companies hiring PhDs directly.
  • Your postdoc office or career center. Alumni introductions and industry fellowships that never reach public job boards.

The screen is where these roles are won

Every marketplace above screens with an interview or assessment in your own domain before assigning paid work. Run that interview with Skillora first and get feedback on how you explained your reasoning, not just on what you said.

Practise the screen free

Related job pages

Science AI training jobsRemote psychologist and psychiatrist jobs

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